Professor John M. Nolan

Professor John Nolan is the Principal Investigator of the Macular Pigment Research Group, Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland (www.mprg.ie). He is a Fulbright Scholar and European Research Council (ERC) Fellow. In 2014, Professor Nolan was appointed as Professorial Chair in Human Nutrition at the Waterford Institute of Technology. His research group studies the role of nutrition in the human eye and brain, with a particular emphasis on carotenoids. He has secured over €6 million in research funding to date to support these studies. Professor Nolan has successfully supervised 14 students to MSc, PhD and MD level qualifications. He has presented at over 100 international scientific conferences and has published over 70 peer-reviewed scientific papers on the topic. Professor Nolan is co-editor of Carotenoids and Retinal Disease published by Taylor and Francis in 2013 and is a member of the

Ocular Nutrition Society.Professor Nolan is currently serving his third term as Chair of the international Macular Carotenoids Conference.

Professor Stephen Beatty

​Professor Stephen Beatty graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1990, and trained as an ophthalmic surgeon in Dublin, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Geneva. He has been a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon with a special interest in retinal disease since 2001. Stephen Beatty has a strong track record in research, with over 140 peer-reviewed publications, and his research interest include cataract and age-related macular degeneration. Stephen Beatty was appointed Professor at Waterford Institute of Technology in 2010 and Adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin in 2011.

Professor Riona Mulcahy

Professor Ríona Mulcahy is a consultant physician in General and Geriatric Medicine at University Hospital Waterford and Undergraduate Dean, Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland. She completed her higher specialist training in Mercer’s Institute for Research in Ageing, Dublin and Newcastle Upon Tyne before returning to Waterford as a consultant in 2000. Since then, she has continued to develop services for older people as well as ongoing research on poly pharmacy in the Elderly, Stroke disease and Parkinson’s disease. Her current dementia research is in collaboration with Professor John Nolan and Professor Stephen Beatty in Waterford Institute of Technology looking at the link between Alzheimer’s disease, Age related macular degeneration, vision and nutritional supplementation.

Professor Billy R. Hammond

University of Georgia, USA

Professor ​Billy R. Hammond is a Professor in the Brain and Behavior program at the University of Georgia. He is also the Principal Investigator of the Vision Sciences Laboratory. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biology/Anthropology/Psychology at the University of Oregon. His doctoral degree was in Sensory and Neural Sciences at the University of New Hampshire and he completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Schepens Eye Research Institute and Harvard Medical School. He was a Professor at Arizona State University for several years before coming to the University of Georgia in 1999. His research focuses on behavioral and dietary antecedents of degenerative diseases of the eye and brain. He is also interested in visual and neural development, psychophysical assessment, and neuroimaging.

Professor Elizabeth Johnson

Tufts University, USA

Professor ​Elizabeth J. Johnson, Ph.D. obtained her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She did her postdoctoral work at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Center on Aging at Tufts University where she is currently a research scientist. She is also an associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Her research interests are in nutrition and age-related visual and cognitive function. She has been involved in numerous clinical and epidemiologic studies and has collaborations with academia, industry and government agencies. Prof. Johnson has membership with the International Carotenoid Society, Carotenoid Research Interactive Group, American Society for Nutritional Sciences, Macula & Nutrition Group and is a member of the Egg Nutrition Center Scientific Advisory Panel.

2015 Conference Photos

See the official photos from the 2015 Macular Carotenoids Conference.

2015 Conference Videos

Conference Location

About the Conference

A conference for macular carotenoid researchers, exploring up-to-date and evidence-based hypotheses and the supporting research data into the role of the macular carotenoids in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), vision, and cognitive function.

Conference Sponsors

Headline Sponsors

MacuHealth is a Michigan Base company focused on preserving vision health and vision performance by providing the only scientifically designed, tested and proven formulations with all three carotenoids found in the eye, (Lutein, Zeaxanthin and Meso-Zeaxanthin). Our sharp focus and commitment to “Trust The Science” is driven by our desire to help improving and preserving vision as well as preventing and managing Age-Related Macular Degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in North America. Our products are distributed in Europe by MacuVision Europe under the brand MacuShield and in the rest of the world as MacuHealth with LMZ3™ (AMD, Night Vision and Glare)and ClearVision.PRO™ (for athletes, casual and professional and outdoors persons).

​Industrial Orgánica (IOSA) is a worldwide company established since 1966, and is currently one of the leaders in providing the macular carotenoids from natural sources. IOSA are committed to research and innovation with the aim to produce compounds to promote health and wellbeing. IOSA are proud to be participating at the Macular Carotenoids 2015 research conference as the Headline Sponsor.

Senior Sponsors

Intermediate Sponsors

Junior Sponsors

The third international Conference solely dedicated to the macular carotenoids - lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin